Jack smiled.
“See…” Smith extended his hand toward Jack. “Now we’re cooperating. We’re sharing information, and we’re finding answers.”
“I want to cooperate, and I’m sorry for losing my temper before,” Jack said, and glanced at the empty chair next to Agent Smith.
“I don’t blame you,” Smith said. “He gets on my nerves too.”
Both men smiled and looked at each other.
“So, let’s talk about Kevin Anderson, and see if we can’t resolve this matter, once and for all.”
“Okay.”
Agent Smith studied Jack’s face. “Did you hurt him?”
“No, I didn’t hurt him.” Jack’s eyes dropped slightly.
“You’re lying to me, Jack,” Smith said harshly. “I’ve been doing this for more than thirty years. You can’t lie to me.”
“It’s not what you think. I didn’t—”
“It was just an accident. I understand,” Smith interrupted.
“Well, yes, it was an accident. But I didn’t hurt him physically. I hurt his feelings,” Jack replied in, a trembling voice. “Big time.”
“What?” Smith sounded angry.
“I saw Kevin board the plane with his wife, and I saw guilt was eating him up. I felt sorry for him. So I told him, his wife’s death wasn’t his fault. And when he wouldn’t talk to me, I kept pushing him, and then suddenly he cracked. His face looked completely destroyed all of a sudden. Then he walked away. I think he just gave up.”
“What do you mean, he gave up?”
“I think he just gave up, and looked for a place to die.”
“That doesn’t make any sense, Jack. His daughter and son had just lost their mother. Why would he give up?”
“I agree, it doesn’t make any sense,” Jack responded. “But, I don’t know what to tell you. Kevin had this look of resignation. Kind of like a dog who knows its time has come.”
Agent Smith frowned, and appeared puzzled by the response. “You think he found a place to die? Kind of like an old dog?”
“Something like that.”
“I see. And do you have any idea where we could find his body? Are there any specific landmarks you can think of?”
Jack frowned. “What do you mean?”
“You are familiar with the terrain out there, so do you know of any places, Kevin might have gone, to seek his final resting place? For example, a cave or…”
Suddenly, Agent Smith’s eyes widened and then he leaned forward.
“A cave? Is the body in a cave? Where’s the cave, Jack?” Smith pointed at Jack. “Your twitch gave you away. Now, don’t you lie to me. Tell me where the cave is.”
“It’s not what you think.” Jack had a look of defeat. “The cave is in Alaska.”
“What?”
“A cave is the reason I flew to Alaska,” Jack said. “I wanted to see if I could find a cave I used to visit as a child.”
Agent Smith’s expression shifted, and he appeared more sad than angry.
“You violated your parole just to visit a cave from your childhood?”
Jack looked startled. “I didn’t violate my parole. The plane was destined for Anchorage. It’s not my fault I’m in Canada.”
Agent Smith tilted his head. “You can’t leave the state, Jack.”
“I can’t leave the country.”
“No…” Smith sounded dejected. “You can’t leave the state.”
Jack had a look of resignation and appeared to be heartbroken, much as when he identified Nancy in the picture.
“You’re all right?” Smith asked. “You didn’t hurt yourself when you climbed that mountain, did you?”
Jack looked confused, and then he shook his head.
“You didn’t sustain any injuries? You don’t have any recent scars, do you?” Agent Smith asked, and then focused on the massive scar on Jack’s neck.
Jack frowned. “I didn’t bleed, if that’s what you’re asking?”
“That’s exactly what I’m asking,” Smith responded. “The thing is. There were no injuries or blood on the dead body that you allegedly took the blazer from, and if you didn’t bleed, then where did the blood on the jacket come from?”
“What blood?”
Agent Smith looked at his notebook. “You were seen returning to the lake wearing a black blazer much like the one Kevin wore. The blazer had a significant amount of blood on one of the sleeves. How did the blood get there, Jack?”
“I didn’t notice any blood,” Jack answered. “And Julie never mentioned it.”
“You find it peculiar that she didn’t bring to your attention that you had blood on your sleeve?”
“No, I understand if she was scared. But I don’t know how I got blood on my sleeve.” Jack shivered. “Wait a minute—perhaps I got blood on the sleeve when I took Andrew’s pants. The jacket was so big I almost lost it at times. Perhaps it was Andrew’s blood on the sleeve.”
“I see.” Agent Smith studied his notebook. “Did you get Andrew’s blood on your hands?”
Jack hesitated. “I didn’t have any blood on my hands.”
“You were seen washing blood off your hands in the lake.”
“No, I didn’t wash any blood off my hands. But I washed my hands frequently. Julie must have confused the soil on my hands with blood. Like I said, she didn’t see that well without her…” Jack trailed off and never finished the sentence.
The two men kept staring at each other, and neither of them flinched. They appeared to be having a staring contest. Eventually, Jack began to smile.
“What lake?” Jack asked.
“What?” Agent Smith responded, and looked uncertain.
“In what lake did I allegedly wash blood of my hands?”
Agent Smith’s eyes started to wander.
“You’re lying, aren’t you?” Jack said. “Julie didn’t say any of this. You’re just making it up as you go along. You never suspected me of killing Nancy or Andrew. You were just trying to get on my good side. And you shared the information about the pilot, hoping I would open up to you.”
Agent Smith glanced at his notebook. “I’m not lying.”
“I bet you’re looking at a blank piece of paper, aren’t you, Agent Smith? There are no notes, are there?” Jack raised his eyebrows. “Let me see the notes and prove me wrong, why don’t you?”
Agent Smith looked at his notebook. Then, he sniffed once and raised his eyebrows in a casual manner and held up the notebook for Jack to see.
BLOOD - HANDS - WASH - LAKE
BLOOD - JACKET SLEEVE
JACKET IS THE EVIDENCE!
VOICES?
Jack stared at the notebook with wide eyes, and then, he shook his head. “That doesn’t prove anything. Either you’ve taken her words out of context, or you wrote that just to fool me. You’re trying to trick me into confessing a crime I didn’t commit.”
Jack suddenly rose to his feet and then pointed aggressively at Agent Smith.
“You’re right, Agent Smith. You’re not a good cop. You’re an incompetent one.” Jack kept eye contact with Agent Smith. “And you’re a liar, Mister Smith, and I’m done talking to you.”
Jack walked up to Detective Sophia Houllier who stood by the door.
“Am I under arrest?” Jack asked gently.
Sophia Houllier looked at Agent Smith as though waiting for an answer to the question. Agent Smith nodded firmly at her.
“No,” Sophia said.
Agent Smith looked disappointed.
“The evidence is all circumstantial. It will never hold up in court,” Sophia said, and kept her eyes on Agent Smith.
Detective Sophia Houllier had the same hostile expression as when she previously stared at Agent Smith, but this time her eyeballs didn’t seem about to poop out of their sockets. Agent Smith’s eyeballs, however, did. He looked absolutely furious.